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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. march — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. swing — music
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — letters
  13. swing — to play on
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — farmland
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. perch — the fish
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com